I am not a pilot but always had in interest in aviation. Recently I have been looking at the LSA opportunity and believe this might be a way for me to go. My wife and I have enough income to sustain our current lifestyle but if I built an airplane we'd go broke. I am interested in teaming up with others with similar interests to be able to spread the costs around. I believe the LSA approach is an excellent way to keep the costs down. I would be interested in building (or purchasing) an LSA with others. I think an ideal situation would be to have about 8 members and 2 aircraft. With these numbers I doubt scheduling would be an issue. (4 people with 1 airplane would also work, but maybe not as well) I have found one local fellow that is interested but we need others to make it work. An alternate idea would be for me to get my private pilot’s license and then the group could also include other experimental aircraft not in the LSA category.

For a Sacramento MSA of ~2 million people, you should certainly have a good shot at building a partner pool. I've been able to seek out partnership groups twice. Several decades ago there were more potential partner candidates than today but today it's much easier to reach out to a general population because of how we're all so interconnected. Here are some basic ideas to get you started:

-- Altho' 'old school', don't overlook the bulletin boards in the FBOs at all the airports in your area. The same is true of EAA chapter meetings in the Sac MSA area, where you can personally network as well as begin to benefit by the deep skill base of EAA members who have built before-- Don't overlook the social media outlets that exist today. Nothing wrong with posting on forums like this one, but also consider Facebook, Twitter etc. networks that are recreational aviation oriented-- If you want to focus on a RV-12 partnership, then use the various on-line resources to help you find potential partners. vansairforce.com is the premier 'RV Venue' and might even lead you to meet folks in your area who are building -12's at the moment

Now for a reality check:-- Deciding upfront to form the partnership around an LSA 'build' project will immediately remove a portion - I'd bet a large portion - of your potential partner pool. The need to accept delayed gratification is one reason but others are folks who don't think they have the skills (even if in reality they can develop them) and the unique issues that surface with a build project such as who owns the tools when the project is completed, can you trust in a new partner's skills & commitment to quality when they are building and you aren't there, and so forth.-- Narrowing down the LSA choice to a specific model - even a well respected, commercially successful one like the RV-12 - is also going to reduce the potential partner pool. Some might be looking for a 'low and slow' a/c, or care about useful load more than you might, or want lots of sizzle with their steak and desire one of the swoopy designs, or want all glass (or a very basic panel). By contrast, one good way to determine if you & others are compatible is for the potential partner group to build a budget together, discuss your respective missions with the a/c, and see if you can arrive at an acceptable a/c model for everyone involved.-- If you haven't begun flight training, you might not be the kind of partner who licensed pilots are willing to consider. You'll raise their insurance rates and your level of commitment is untested. And the same is true for you when meeting other non-pilots who say they like your idea. Perhaps a good place for you to start is in the cockpit of a plane to see what you think (and how you feel) about flying.

Partnerships can be an economical pathway to not just affordable flying but affordable airplane ownership. The devil's in the details. Good luck!

Thanks Jack for all the excellent information. I edited my post to reflect what you suggested. I do want to be flexable but can't afford an expensive operation. One Question: You said to post to "Facebook, Twitter etc. networks that are recreational aviation oriented". I have never done facebook or twitter. How would I post my desires there?